Illusions
by ariabeckwith
Summary: A normal sixteen year-old, Vanessa or Ness, as she likes to be called, has her world turned upside-down with almost no warning. What happened? Read on to find out.


** Author's note **

Hey, if you like this story, well,thank you. If you don't then please, please post a review on how I can make it better.

Use the review service, it's there for a reason you know.**

I was walking down the deserted beach. The wide stretch of pristine white sand lay before me. The waves were crashing on my right side, regularly spraying me with sea spray, I was way out of their reach, since I didn't want to spoil my shoes or_ more _importantly, wet my socks. There is nothing like wet socks to bring you crashing from even cloud nine.

I came here almost every day. This stretch of beach was tucked between two hills and very isolated and therefore, still untouched by the mindless frenzy of "development". However, I suspected it wouldn't be so, for much longer now. Only yesterday Dad was talking with Mr. Downey about opening more places near the sea because the demands (and prices!) for such properties were touching the skies.

'Ah!' a sigh escaped my lips thinking about how I would miss this place. With its miles of unbroken serenity, this place calmed me more than any of those stupid drugs or alcohol ever could. I looked out towards the sea, past the waves; the sun was about two minutes from being swallowed by the horizon and its orange glow was making the water look like it was on fire. I was captivated by the beauty unfolding before my eyes. To anyone watching me I would seem like a total idiot. Gaping at nothing but water and the sun. This thought made me giggle with nervousness. There was nobody watching me because _there was_ _nobody here _on this beach. Right? I looked around to confirm this fact. And that's when I saw **him**.

There was somebody standing near the base of the hill behind me with his head turned in my direction. Standing there and looking at me. Okay, maybe this was just plain, old me being paranoid maybe he wasn't looking at **me. **Maybe he was here taking a walk to ease off the day's stress, just like me, at was looking at something behind me. He had as much right as me to be here, it was not as if I owned this place. Still, let's face it, there was nothing on this beach before him, except me, a couple of fishermen huts, which were empty, and the other hill, but the huts were far left. So, he was either looking at me or at the hill. Whatever the case, I don't think being alone on a deserted beach, with a stranger, who may or may not be **staring** at me, was a wise thing to do. And let's keep in mind that this was a place, about which very few people knew and nobody knew that** I **was here. Not mom, not dad, not even Stella, who was my best friend (more like my only friend!) since second grade. Why did I want to keep this beach a secret? Why could I not tell Stella about it? She would have come here anyway, so, what was the big deal? I cursed myself for being so secretive and reclusive. I sent a quick, silent prayer to God promising that I'll never keep such things a secret, if He'll get me back home. Safely.

I hurried my steps but not enough that it would alert my pursuer. I had heard several stories about how people had escaped mishaps and accidents because their attacker had thought that their victims didn't suspect a thing. The fishermen huts were closer now and I thought I could make it within two minutes at my current speed. After I reached the huts I would take the short dirt to the main road. I always parked my little beetle near the mouth of the dirt road. I looked back and saw that the boy had crossed half the distance between us. Wow, he was fast! I increased my pace further. I was almost jogging now. My bangs were getting stuck to my forehead, thankfully, that was making me see better instead of obstructing my view. There was silence all around me. I couldn't even hear the calls of the returning seagulls. The evening was getting darker. The place didn't seem like a safe and calm haven anymore.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of the footsteps of my pursuer. He didn't seem in a hurry. However, this was enough to make me forget everything and run. Run. All I could do now was run or …_fight_ _the boy behind me_. I could have chosen the second option, _if_ I was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I was not. So, I went with the first option.

I was feeling frightened. What if I never made it out of here? Would people know that I was gone? The panic was making me confused and hard for me to move my limbs. Amidst this confusion, I crashed into something that knocked the breath out of me. That something turned out to be a man. Or maybe I should call him a giant. He certainly had the height and bulk to be one! He had on a stiff, black suit. And his eyes were full of fire. And when I say _fire_, I literally mean fire. There were flames dancing in his eye-sockets, right where his eyes should be. What was happening? Was a collision with this big, bruiser of a man enough to have me hallucinating? I was truly terrified now. I heard the boy shout something from behind me, which sounded suspiously, like a word that would have gotten me in trouble if, I had said it in class. I barely had a moment to consider this when the man pointed a finger at the middle of my forehead. A piercing pain shot up spine making me double up, gasping. Tears of helplessness started running down my face, sure that this was the end of me. This man could crush me to a pulp without breaking a sweat. He had only pointed at me and incapacitated me. It was _that easy_ for him. Nothing could save me now.

As if to prove me wrong, a hand grabbed my waist and flung me out towards the huts. I crashed into the wall of one of the huts with my arm under my body and I heard a loud crack. _Was that the sound of my __**arm **__breaking?_ Sharp, strong pain flared in my arm that made me open my eyes wide, trying to give the pain an outlet from my body to anywhere. **Anywhere outside**. And what I saw made me unable to close them again. The boy, probably a year or two older than me, had his hand outstretched and the man was up in the air. With a sudden howl the man with the fiery eyes collapsed and was immediately sucked into the sand, but not before the boy cut his little finger. He bottled the blue bleeding finger and put it in a pocket.

I was staring at him dumbfounded, the pain in my arm all but forgotten. "I thought they would send something a bit more challenging to kill. You get tired of killing shedus after sometime. Shedu means ancient fire demon, you know. ", said the boy and looked at me. Suddenly, his face turned cautious. He said in a soft, melodious voice, which was very different from the one he had used earlier, "Are you okay,Princess Vanessa?"

My arm was squashed under my body, most probably at a wrong angle, and I was pretty sure that my forehead had a cut that was bleeding. And the guy was asking was I _okay_? I mean, seriously, how much_ okay _could I be? How did he know my name? And, why was he calling me _princess_? Seeing the skeptical expression on my face made him sigh.

"Go to sleep.", he said.

My eyelids suddenly became too heavy to hold up and his cerulean eyes were the last thing I saw.


End file.
